 STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
 Classic
|
 Excellent
|
 Good
|
 Fair
|
 Tragic
|
|
| Packshot |  |
| Game Details | Released
30 March 2007 | | Format
PC | | Developer
GSC Game World |
|
|
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl
 Review
After spending six tortuous years in development – and teasing players with endless previews and false release dates – most PC gamers will think of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. as a conventional first-person shooter. But in reality, THQ’s sprawling adventure is much, much more.
Using the ingenious A-Life system, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the closest any game has come to creating a living, breathing world; staged in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear facility, the game presents a grotty landscape where life goes on regardless of your presence, with NPCs who’ll chat and bicker amongst themselves, ever-shifting weather patterns, and mutant animals who’ll attack each other for food and to satisfy their bloodlust. Moreover, every time you begin a game the action unfolds in a completely different way, the game’s freeform structure also allowing you to ditch objectives mid-mission and choose your own path, leading players towards a series of wildly different conclusions.
Deep role-playing elements, atmospheric visuals and grittily realistic gunplay also help make S.T.A.L.K.E.R. a compelling adventure, and one of the few overdue games that was actually worth the wait.
Reviewer: David McComb
Get this review and thousands more on on your iPhone, download the Empire Movie Guide now!
Write Your Review
To submit your own review and rating please login or register.
Advertisement
|
|
|
